Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-05-07
WHALING ON THE SOUND.
The OFF SHORE FISHERY ALONG
The COAST OF LONG ISLAND.
AoOAous Signal Poles-A whale In
sisnt-Embarking for the Chase-Capt-
ured and lowed Ashore-cut I'M and
Tried Out for OIL.

1ot tno ChAS0-CApte
ered and flowed Ashore-Cut On and
Tried Out for OH. II
Inc on shore f3ahery Is still an organised in
dustry in Amagansett, Easthampton. Bride-
hampton and Southampton, four villages
ana townships forming the extreme eastern
emo OF Long Island Walking their foaminR
Deacnes IN summer days q sees in some
prominent sand dune Q tail pole firmly
pianted on the sand with cleats nailed upon
~ at intervals, % that it can be easily a.
cended. Within sight, perhaps q mile dir
tant, IS another, and 50 the coast is belted
with them from the Hamptons on the west
quite beyond Amagansstt. These are tbs
"~lookouts" Of the whale fishers, and also serve
thasame purpose when the menhaden are of
shore in the spring. On . cold, wintry morn
Ing some one-a patrolman from the life
saving station perhaps-discovers q school
Of whales q mile or two of shore. He at
once climbs the nearest pole and swings his
jacket as a "weft." Bright eyes are ever
on the watch, and at once a huge fish horn
Is sounded in the village ordering a rally,
lazy ponies are harnesed into crazy wagons,
the three boats crews jump in and they are
of on a gallop to the beach, followed by an
the able bodied men, WON IN and children Of
the village.
The great whale boats are drawn up On
the sands near the boat house, the latter con-
tanning oars, harpoons, lances, tho coiled
harpoon line and other implements Of the
chase. Hairy, brawny arms run tho boat
down to the marge, oven which at regular
intervals the breakers throw their carpets Of
foam. The men stand statuesque by the
side of the boat until the smallest Of the
''three brothers, for % they term the
graded series Of waves which form the
ryhthm of the sea) breaks, when they run the
craft in with a rush and pull out in the lu1l
beyond the foaming crestA Once outzide
the line Of surf the boat stesrer at tho helm
takes q look around for the whales. They
are about a mile out, feeding on the ''britt''
"a minute sea animal of q reddish cast) just
beneath the surface, occasionally coming up
to Spout"
The boat steals cautiously on the quarry,
the harpooner in the bow weapon in hand,
while we on the beach watch with bated
breath the result. It Is no easy matter to
approach a whale under these circumstances.
A grizzled old veteran, with hands on hips,
indicates some Of the difficulties: "Ef yeou
cum up on the side the brute sights ye an
makes off; eff yeou cum up directly in his
wake he senses ye in some curious way and
of he goes. You'll zee she cap'n'u cum up
quarterin' like"
The boat was very near n Of the. largest
Of the whales. Presently we saw the "iron''
fash and bury itself in the monster, the har-
pooner exchange places with the boat steerer,
his long, cleaning lance in hand, and then be.
came sensible that the boat was being borne
with terrible swiftness beyond our ken. Lea
and less it grew, now a small speck on the
horizon-then vanishing altogether.
"They may 60 at that pace for twenty
mile,' said the veteran. "More than ones
I've found myself out there Indicating the
horizon), nc land in sight, fast to q whale,
n mebbe a fog or storm comm up. The
chances are, though, that in a mile or two
the whale'u lie on the water and sulk. Then
the boat'n steal up and the cap'n'u give him
the death thrust with the lance. Them's
pretty excitin' times. I've BEN thar often.
The blow grazest the black, shiny hide, the
cap'n thrusts; an when he pulls out the lance
a shower Of blood follers, often drenching the
boats crew. If possible the lance is given
another thrust, then it's well to back water,
for the beast soon goes into the death furry,
an would break a cast iron boat to pieces If
it struck it. The whale sinks once it is dead,
and the men mark its position by q buoy
with a flag attached. The sinking in deep
water is a bad thing for the whalemen. A
whale that sinks in 200 fathons is apt to stay
DOWN"
On the beach the boat landed during the
night, and the men finding shelter at station
6, came into town in the morning reporting
having sunk the whale about ten miles out.
On the third day the quarry is expected to
rise, and tho men row out, returning with it
late at night Next morning there is quite
a stampede to view the monster, which has
formed almost the sole topic of gossip in the
stores for the past two nights. It lies bump
ing in the surf, having grounded some little
way out, a huge, black, shining mass, n fin
upright, and the huge f1ukes swaying in the
surf. Capt. Edwards is six feet high, but
when he stands upright beside the fin his head
is on b level with its tip. The men swarm
upon the whale like the Liliputians on Gull
liver, maintaining their footing by sharp
prods in their boots and by the stout hawser
fastened round the fukes and carried to an
anchor on shore. As it lays these four
wagons and teams ''tandem, - do not com
pass its length, and two tall men one stand
ing on the others head would not reach to its
upper surface.
Edwards began operations by cutting with
his spade a deep incision in the neck forward
of the fin and continuing until he struck and
unjointed the huge vertebre. Next the lip
Of the head was taken of, exp ,sing the
upright row of whalebone lining the cavity
Of the mouth with is hairy filaments, used by
the whale in stralning the "britt" IN which
it feeds. This is the most valuable part, bone
having ruled at times during the past few
years as high as 50 per pound. Next the men
attack the body, cutting long burrows around
the animal and then by cross lines dividing
the blubber into large, squares sections, which
are lowed ashore. The men work lively, for
a storm is liable to break upon them at any
time and sweep the prize from it's hold.
When one side has been stripped the huge
carcass is turned at flood tide and the re-
manning side stripped. Meantime far up tho
beach unier the protecting dunes prepara-
lions for trying the blubber are progressing
with vigor. The trypots set in brickwork
will hold $50 gallons each, and weigh 600
pounds. There is but little wood beside each
kettle-the scrapple will feed the fires, after
the first kettleful is boiled. The trying goes
on by night and by day.-Detroit Free
Press.
Markers Instead Of Pencils.
A glance at a ball programme usually
,,,<3o oo IN oo,,vinoo ono that writing iS a rarA